Glass-beveling machine.



No. 787,788. v PATBNTED APR. 13, 1905. J H. MoBRIDB.

GLASS BEVELING MACHINE.

APJPLIGATION FILED MAY 25. 19 04.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

PATENTED APR. 18, 1905.

J. H. MQBRIDE.

GLASS BEVELING MACHINE.

- APPLICATION FILED MAY '25, 1904.

2SHEETS-SHEET 2.

v I/VlZ/E/VTOA? am uzm fimie INITED STATES Patented April 18, 1905.

JOHN H. MCBRIDE, OF LOMPOG, CALIFORNIA.

GLASS-BEVELING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent NO- 787,783, dated April 18, 1905. Application filed May 25, 1904-.- Serial No- 209,664.

To all whom itmmy concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN H. MCBRIDE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lompoc,

in the county of Santa Barbara and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Glass-Beveling Machines, of which the following is a specification.

The main object of this invention is to enable plate-glass or similar articles to be beveled expeditiously, economically, and conveniently.

According to the present practice a grinding-wheel is provided, over the face of which the edge to be beveled is moved by hand or by a suitable traveling support. In the case of small plates of glass they are held by the operator at the proper angle and' considerable skill is required to'insure that the angle will be correct, while in the case of large plates great difiiculty is experienced in properly supporting and moving the plate and in turning it from the position for grinding one edge to the position for grinding another edge.

Another object of my invention is to enable the whole operation of grinding, finishing, and polishing the bevel to be performed simultaneously.

The invention consists in a machine provided with grinding and polishing devices and adapted to travel bodily along and over the glass while the latter is in fixed position, so that the grinding devices can be moved progressively along each edge of the plate, beveling the edge as they go along.

The invention further comprises in such a machine means for adjustment of'the angle or inclination of the grinding devices, so as to give the desired angle to the bevel.

The invention further comprises in a machine of this character a plurality of grinding and buffing or polishing devices operating simultaneously and coming into action successively on the same part of the glass, so that as the machine is moved along the edge of the glass the latter is first ground, then finished, and finally polished in'one progressive forward movement of the machine.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention.

Figure l is a plan of the machine. Fig. 2

is a side elevation thereof. Fig. 3 is an end view showing it in position on a plate of glass. Fig. 4 is a detail of a journal for the wheels. Fig. 5 shows a different form of the invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 to 3, the machine comprises a frame 1, which may, if desired, be provided with rollers 2 to enable it to travel more readily upon the supporting-table and glass plate, as hereinafter described. Mounted on axes extending transversely to the frame 1 are a plurality of grinding devices, here indicated as a rough-grinding wheel 3, a finishing-wheel 4, and a polishing-wheel5. The wheel 3may be of carborundum, the wheel 4: of stone, and the wheel 5 may be a buffing-wheel, of leather or other suitable material. These Wheels are respectively mounted upon shafts 6, 7 and 8, journaled in bearings or pillow-blocks 9, 10, and 11. To enable angular adjustment of the shafts, these bearings or pillow-blocks are desirably made vertically adjustable, each bearing comprising a journal-box or block 12, slidable vertically in guides or pedestals 13 and adjustable by screws 27, engaging with-said journal-box and with the pedestal-frame, so that either end of the shaft may be raised or lowered, as desired; Blocks 9', 10, and 11 may be provided with convex bushings 29 (see Fig. 4:) to enable a certain amount of tilting.

Any suitable means may be used to drive the wheels above described. In Figs. 1 t0 3 such means is shown as consisting of an electric. motor 14:, having a suitable flexible connection 15 to an energizing-circuit or source of electric supply, so that connection with the motor will be maintained while the machine is moved to different positions. Said motor may be connected to the grinding and bufling wheels by any suitable means for example, by belts or cords 16 running over and engaging pulleys 17, 18, 19, and 20, respectively, on the motor-shaft 21 and on the shafts 6, 7, and 8, of the respective wheels 3, 4, and 5. 22 designates a suitable switch and rheostat means for controlling the operation of the motor.

Suitable gage means are provided-to hold and guide the carrying-frame 1 parallel to and connection 30 of any usual or suitable conin proper position with relation to the edge of the glass. The gage means may consist of a strip or strips 23, connected to the frame by adjusting screws 24:, whereby the distance of the guiding edge of the strip or strips from the side of the frame can be varied to bring the grinding and bufiing wheels in proper position relatively to the edge of the glass.

25 designates water-supply means consisting of a tank connected to nozzles 26, arranged to drip water over the wheels 3 and 4, respectively.

The machine is used as follows: The glass plate 31, which is to be beveled, is placed on a suitable table or support, and the carryingframe 1 is placed with one side resting on the glass and the other side resting on the table. Gage means 23 are adjusted to bring the grinding and bufling wheels in proper position at the edge of the glass, and the adjusting-screws 24 are operated to raise the inner bearings of the several shafts 6, 7, and 8, so as to tilt the wheels 3, 4, and 5 to the proper angle for giving the desired bevel. The motor is then started in operation, thereby rotating wheels 3, 4:, and 5. The carrying-frame being pushed along the edge of the glass, the rotating grinding-wheel 3 will rough-cut the edge or corner of the plate to approximately the proper bevel, the wheel 2 will finish the grinding to a smooth finish, and the buffing-wheel will polish the surface, the said wheels operating successively on each part of the edge of the glass as the machine is pushed along the same. To enable this result, it is necessary that the several wheels should rotate in the same plane and that this plane should be longitudinal of the frame-that is to say, parallel to the direction ofv movement of the frame. When one side edge of the glass has thus been beveled, the operater will simply turn the corner with the machine and continue the operation on the adjacent side, and so on, around the plate, the whole operation consuming but a small part of the time now required and much less labor. The same machine may be used in beveling any size of plates, even the largest, and with such plates the expense of such a machine will be very small compared to the usual apparatus.

In case the adjustment shown for the shafts 6, 7, and 8 is not sufficient to produce the desired steepness of bevel a strip (indicated at 28 in Fig. 3)may be laid on the glass to raise the upper side of the carrying-frame, or, if preferred, the peripheries of the grinding and buffing wheels can be inclined to produce the same result, or any other expedient may be adopted to the same end.

In the form of my invention shown in Fig. 5 the motor 14 is stationary and is connected to the driving-wheels of the movable frame 1 by bevel-gears 22 23 and by a flexible shaft struction having one end connected to the motor-shaft, and the other end connected to the shaft on the carrying-frame-for example, the shaft 6, which may be connected by belts or cords 16 and pulleys 18, 19, and 20, as above described, to the shafts 7 and 8. The motor 14: may desirably be secured about over the center of the operating-table, so that the flexible shaft can easily reach in all positions of the machine. The operation will be the same as above described, the only difference being that the power is transmitted to the moving wheel-carrier by mechanical instead of electric means. The grinding and buffing wheels are driven in a direction tending to force the machine forwardly against the material to be cut, and this will largely overcome the resistance ofiered by the material, so that the power required to be exercised by the operator is correspondingly reduced.

An important feature of the invention is the fact that the machine itself is portable or transportable along'the work in place of having the work move relatively to the machine. In the case of large plates the machine will be small compared to the size of the plate, so that transportation of the machine is much easier than movement of the plate. Another important feature of the machine is the fact that it is guided and supported by running on the glass or on the supporting-table, or both, the machine-frame being, in fact, its own guide in the sense that no stationary or separate guiding means are necessary.

It will be understood when the term grinding is used herein in the specification and claims it will include buffing, as the latter is in the nature of grinding, the operation of the grinding and buffing wheels being substan-' tially identical.

What I claim is- 1. In a glass-beveling machine, a frame, grinding means thereon, and gage means for engaging the edge of the glass to guide the frame.

2. A glass-beveling machine comprising a transportable longitudinally-movable frame, a grinding-wheel journaled on said frame to rotate in the plane of longitudinal movement, said frame being provided with gage means for engaging and guiding the frame in itslongitudinal movement, and driving means connected to said grinding-wheel.

3. In a glass-beveling machine a transportable longitudinally-movable carrying-frame provided with gage means to engage the edge of the glass and to guide it in its longitudinal movement, a plurality of grinding-wheels of different grinding power and a buffing-wheel journaled on said frame to rotate in the same plane longitudinal of the frame, driving means connected to said grinding and buffing means and a flexible power connection for said driving means.

4. A glass-beveling machine comprising a transportable longitudinally-movable frame,

a grinding-Wheel journaled on said frame to rotate in the plane of longitudinal movement,- said frame being provided with gage means for engaging the edge of the glass to guide the frame in its longitudinal movement, means for adjusting the angular position of the grinding-wheel, and driving means connected to said grinding-Wheel.

5. A glass-beveling machine comprising a IO transportable longitudinally-movable frame, a grinding-Wheel journaled on said frame to rotate in the plane of longitudinal movement, said frame being provided with means for 

